ISIS torches oil to stem Iraqi advance

March 5, 2015 10:23 PM

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BAGHDAD: ISIS militants have set fire to oil wells northeast of the city of Tikrit to obstruct an assault by Shiite militiamen and Iraqi soldiers trying to drive them from the city and surrounding towns, a witness said.

The witness and a military source said ISIS fighters ignited the fire at the Ajil oil field to shield themselves from attack by Iraqi military helicopters, which are taking part in the biggest offensive against ISIS after its seizure of wide swaths of Iraq last year.